Us vs Them
by o0vicarious-living0o
Summary: In a slightly AU time where suddenly there are flesh-eating undead roaming the earth, something has to be done about them. While the hunt is on for the (possible) mutant who started this disaster, I go on the road with a very headstrong Wolverine to try and help others. (Rogan, from Rogue's point of view.)
1. Chapter 1

**_Slightly AU. Xavier is still alive. Jean and Scott are not. It's a zombie fic so of course it's going to involve some OOCness._**

 _*Disclaimer: X-Men does not belong to me. At all. If any new character names are introduced, I will claim them, but the ones you already know, I cannot._

* * *

 **Prologue**

"Bobby, it's something we should do," I pleaded, ignoring the other two people in the room as I scowled at Bobby two feet away from his face. "We can't just sit around and do nothing. The outside world is absolute chaos, and there are probably loads of people who could use our help."

"Marie, please listen and rethink this," Storm chimed in, crossing her arms across her chest as her white hair cascaded over her shoulders. Stepping forward, she lightly put her hand on my shoulder (which was covered, of course). "Professor Xavier already said he's working on something. Right now, we need to be patient and see how things go."

"Oh, _right_ ," I said, my southern twang making a brief appearance as I brushed my blonde-streaked hair over behind my ear. Sarcastically, I continued, "Because we have plenty of time to spare while the Professor possibly spends _days_ in Cerebro? The news already said that people are dropping at almost three hundred an hour. That was four days ago. If the disease spreads, that just means that there's a hell of a lot more _now_ than there was _then_."

"We know, Rogue," Logan finally chimed in, stepping forward with an unlit cigar sticking from his mouth. "That's why we need to stay _here_. We have to keep the students safe."

"It's not _just_ the student's we should be worried about, though." The students were very important to me, though, even more-so after I had graduated from Xavier's school two years before and Professor Xavier asked me to stick around and help teach. I never thought of myself as a smart person, but I had become a very efficient member of the X-Men.

And I had experience with runaway kids.

The students all respected me, but I think it was mainly because of rumors of the things I had done, on accident and on purpose. I didn't want that type of fear be instilled in kids who were supposed to look up to me, so I made sure to take time and remind them that their powers were a blessing that could curse them if they used them to do bad things. I had almost killed Logan because of my "gift" and I wasn't even conscious.

About one month into the latest semester, we were suddenly hearing news from contacts all over the world, all basically saying the same thing. The dead were coming back to life, and they were doing the unthinkable. They were _eating_ other people, just like in those old zombie movies that me and my family would watch on Halloween. At first we were all sure it was a massive joke, but then we started hearing about the strange happenings from our local media. Loved ones returning from the grave, trying to take bites out of anyone who was near. It didn't take long for anyone who was bitten or scratched by the undead things to become ill then within hours change into one of those creatures.

The saddest thing about the whole situation was that we were all almost positive it was the work of another mutant.

Of course, none of us had ever heard of a mutant that had the ability to create zombies, but it was almost impossible to find two of the same kind of mutants anyway. I mean, I'd never met another mutant who could control ice or fire, the weather, drain someone's life with a touch... It seemed the mutant gene was even more picky than it was rare.

Of course most of the mutants were at an advantage in the chaos. Most of us had enough helpful skills from having a mutation that we could easily take down the slow, gruesome creatures. My only advantage was enhanced physical hand-to-hand training, though. My ability to drain life wouldn't work on a technically "life"-less being.

Well, despite everything, we were just about stuck. While Professor Xavier used Cerebro to try and track down the mutant responsible for the outbreak, we had to set guards around the mansion. The only way we could allow any of the students outside was if they were in the courtyard, which was solid all the way around.

Sigh.

One problem at a time.

"It's also about the general public, the non-mutants," I corrected, putting a gloved hand to my chin as I tried to think of a way to convince the others to let me... What did I want to do?

I wanted to find the person who started this, first of all. But that was a problem being dealt with. The biggest issue was saving peoples' lives, so I guess that meant I needed to become... Well, I guess a zombie hunter. "I think we should have trained volunteers go throughout the country – even get contacts to go throughout the world – and hunt down and kill these creatures."

"I'm not sure that's such a great idea," Bobby said, standing a bit more closely than I cared for. "Sending out some of our best trained fighters would leave the school vulnerable."

"I agree with Bobby," Storm said, shifting her stance.

I could feel myself become irritated with everyone. I understood worrying about our own, but when our own was more than well-protected, why shouldn't we help others? "Look, I'm not sayin' we send out everyone from the team. Maybe just two or three. We'll take one of the S.U.V.s, kill any of those _things_ we may come across, and any survivors we encounter we'll call y'all to come pick up in the jet."

"And there's a couple of snags in your plan right there, kid," Logan said with a huff, removing his unlit cigar from his mouth. "First of all, you're implying that you'll be part of whatever team that does this. That's not happening. Your mutation is useless for that kind of venture. If anything, we'd need to send someone like Colossus or Storm or – "

"You?" I asked, my aggravation apparent in my voice. "Look, I know I can't exactly kill those things with my mutation but I'm still an elite trained fighter. And we can't afford to have Colossus anywhere but here. The school _is_ our first priority. But I just think that I should be allowed to go and at least _try_ and do some good in the world. Whether anyone comes with me or not doesn't matter. _I_ want to go."

Storm and Logan both looked at each other with trepidation as Bobby glared daggers at me. Even though we had only dated for a little while, back when we were still teenagers, he still seemed to hold a candle for me and it was evident with his over-protectiveness and sometimes-sweet gestures. I no longer cared for him the way I used to, but I tried to get past it and be his friend. He wasn't as happy with the arrangement.

"Listen, Marie," Storm said softly. "When Charles takes a break from Cerebro, we'll talk to him about it. He may think it's a good idea. Good for you or good for the world, I'm not sure, but as long as he clears it there's nothing we can do to stop you." Pausing for a moment and narrowing her eyes in thought, she said, "I'll even accompany you so you won't be alone."

Making a grunt of disapproval, Logan said through clenched teeth. "We'll see what needs to be done when Xavier comes out of Cerebro. Until then, no more talk of goin' out on your own kid, you got me? It's too dangerous."

Rolling my eyes childishly, I stomped towards the door. "Logan, you're not my keeper, and neither is anyone else here. I'll wait to see what the professor says, but I'm probably gonna go whether he thinks it's a good idea or not."

With that, I opened the door and stepped from the room quickly, trying not to slam the door behind me. I didn't want to seem even more childish than I already did.

Looking out the windows of the mansion, the daylight told me it was too early for bed. I probably couldn't have slept if I wanted to anyways, so I instead made my way down to the Danger Room, looking to blow off some steam.

After changing into my uniform quickly in the locker room, I set the requirements into the database and put a thirty second hold onto the hologram. Walking into the Room, I situated myself in the center, locking my core into a defensive stance.

The computer's voice resounded through the room. " _Simulation will begin in 3... 2... 1..._ "

With no further fanfare, I suddenly found myself in the middle of a decimated street, with fire burning in different directions and broken glass everywhere. I was in the center of about a twenty yard wide circle, enclosed with wrecked and blazing cars and large chunks of concrete jutting out from the ground.

Ever since I first heard of the zombies, I immediately input a simulation to incorporate them so we could hone our skills with the new threat. It took a bit of creativity and a couple of trips into an infected town to understand how to get their mannerisms right. I made sure to be on both trips into the outside world after the school went into lock-down, almost too excited for some action. There, we encountered multiple of the undead, but the curved dual blades that draped perfectly on each hip I had taken a liking to in the recent years were more than efficient at killing those disgusting creatures. It was bloody, but it was invigorating.

That was the point that I immediately resented myself. How could I take joy in killing something that used to be an actual _person_? I pondered it for a while before I came to the relieving conclusion that being back in action period was what had been so invigorating. I had become complacent in the past couple of years, teaching while not really doing much in my spare time. I knew I should have used the Danger Room more, but I was too busy hating myself on and off for thinking about _him_...

 _No!_ I needed to focus. I needed to run the simulation. I needed to practice.

"Begin spawning enemies!" I yelled out. A soft beep resounded through the room, and suddenly I could hear those creatures. Their wet snarls were an unmistakable sound. I turned around quickly, not letting my back face a certain spot for too long.

This tactic was actually taught to me by a student who was into playing video games like _Call of Duty_ and _Gears of War_ , so I asked him to help me incorporate his game into the Danger Room system. He was a techno-path, so it wasn't any problem for him. He was honestly slightly upset that we hadn't already done that. According to him, he would have started the Danger Room sessions much sooner if he had known he could play his favorite games in a simulator.

Hearing a much louder groan, I turned to my right and faced my first enemy. He was tall and lean, with half of his scalp missing as he shined his lip-less teeth. The flannel shirt he was wearing was ragged, covered in stuff I didn't even want to think about.

Crossing my arms over each hip, I pulled out my blades, setting a new defensive stance. The creature came at me at a bit faster pace than most would but I easily bounced around out of its grasp and used both my blades to slice through its neck from behind. It's head rolled to the ground, and I grinned as the real action began.

I spent around four hours in the Danger Room, varying my simulation every hour to keep myself balanced with different situations. I was pouring sweat and my hair was a tangled mess about my face as I exited the room, slightly limping. I had misjudged a roll and landed harshly on my right hip, knocking the breath from me as I gritted my teeth through the pain. Other than that one minor injury, I had done very well for a one-person simulation set on one of the much more difficult settings. I was confident enough in my abilities to know that I was skilled, but Logan was the only one of us who could go in for a multi-person simulation by himself on the highest Danger level and come out lighting a cigar.

I went straight up the stairs and to my room to grab my toiletries, itching for a cold shower to cool me down. After running to the empty girl's lavatory, I made quick work of removing my soaking wet uniform and stepping into the cool stream of the shower. I languished in the sensation of the waterfall shower for a good twenty minutes before turning the water over to hot so I could clean myself.

Once I was finished and wrapped in a robe, I was walking out the door. I looked behind me to turn out the bathroom light before I felt my body crash into someone. By the absolute solidness of the hit, I immediately knew it was Logan, who caught me around the waist of my robe before I fell but not before my caddy spilled out all over the floor.

Logan let go of me quickly and immediately went to pick up my fallen objects.

"Oh, damn, don't worry about it," I said, leaning down and throwing all of my creams and soaps into the caddy. As he handed me a bottle of lotion almost awkwardly, his hand came within centimeters of touching my bare skin, so I immediately jerked away, almost spilling my caddy again.

"Sorry," he mumbled, standing straight as I gathered myself and stood as well. Looking at my now paranoid facial expression, he quirked an eyebrow and crossed his arms. "Ya know, it's not like it'll kill me if you accidentally touch me like that. A quick brush is nothing against my healing."

"Well, never can be too careful, huh?" I said quickly, embarrassed and feeling very inadequately clothed as I made sure my robe covered me sufficiently. "I've already almost killed you twice when you're pretty much unkillable. Don't blame a lady for keepin' her friends safe." I tried for a smile, which may have seemed a little forced but mostly concerned.

"Marie..." Logan tapered off, looking like he wanted to reach out to me but stopping himself at the sight of my bare arms and legs. It wasn't very smart for me to have a robe like the one I was wearing, because it left a lot of my skin exposed to possibly easily hurt people.

But then again, I was literally just trying to wear it back to my room.

"What are you doing in this wing of the mansion?" I asked, suddenly remembering that his room was in the west wing with the boys.

Seeming to snap himself out of some sort or trance, Logan shook his head quickly before saying, "Uh, Charles is out of Cerebro. He wants a meeting with all of us."

" _Now_?" I asked, my cheeks suddenly a flaming red from my state of dress, or lack thereof.

"Yeah, well," Logan stumbled, taking in my wet hair and barely held together robe. "I mean, as soon as possible, so I guess you have time to... Um."

"Get dressed?" I finished his sentence, looking at him with raised eyebrows.

"Um, yeah, that. So, we'll be in his office waiting for you." He looked just as uncomfortable as I felt, which was saying a lot.

"O-okay," I managed. "I'll go get dressed and be there in a minute."

With a jerky movement, Logan nodded his head and walked away swiftly. I don't think my face could have been any redder than if I had just spent an hour in a tanning bed. Shaking my head of that horribly humiliating encounter, I quickly made my way back to my room and changed, ready to see what Professor Xavier had to say.

When I entered the crowded office wearing my full don't-touch-me clothes, it seemed like everyone had already taken their stances around the room, with only Storm and Kitty sitting.

Professor Xavier sat behind his desk as usual, looking tired and weary. Once he saw me, he said, "Good, Rogue, you're here. Now we can get started."

"Sorry," I said meekly, winding between Bobby and Jubilee and finding a place to stand against the wall next to Hank.

"Quite alright," he said before clearing his throat for attention. Addressing everyone in the room, he said, "Now, I spent a great deal of time using Cerebro today as you all know. Unfortunately, I have been unable to locate whoever is responsible for this disaster. It will take some more time searching, but until then, Storm has informed me that Rogue has an idea of what we can do. Rogue?"

"What?" I said aloud stupidly, not thinking he would put me on the spot in front of _everyone_ on the team. "Oh, yeah, uhm..."

After clearing my throat, I gave everyone in the room the same pitch I gave earlier about helping others. While some members looked unhappy with my plan, a few others seemed mildly interested.

Finishing up, I said, "So, Professor, with all due respect, I really want to take on this venture, whether anyone else wants to or not." I didn't blatantly say I would defy him if he said no, but I made it clear that it was what I wanted to do.

The other members of the team were whispering to each other, all except Logan, who had had his eyes on me the whole time. The professor cleared his throat, immediately making everyone stop talking. "I find it very noble that you wish to put yourself in danger for strangers, but are you sure? Those creatures are slow and you're more than capable, but accidents happen. Are you willing risk your life for people you don't even know?"

Looking around at everyone in the room staring at me, I felt a flush creep up my neck as I crossed my arms. "I'm sure. The only issue I have is what I'm gonna do with survivors, if I manage to collect any."

"I'll make a couple of calls," Xavier said, smiling lightly at me. "If you insist on doing this, I grant you use of one of the school's vehicles and any supplies you may need." Addressing the rest of the room, he said, "Anyone else wish to join her?"

Before Storm could even stand and say anything, Logan stepped forward and said harshly, "I'll be going with her."

The rough edge to his voice made me feel his anger, and I almost wanted to cower if I wasn't so stubborn.

"And me," came another voice. Looking around, I realized Bobby had stepped forward. Groaning inwardly, I almost couldn't take the testosterone of the place. Logan had promised to protect me many years before so I could understand his protectiveness, but Bobby was trying to not seem weak next to Logan, possibly trying to get me to notice him. Well, of _course_ I noticed him. I noticed him being a jackass.

"I think a two-person team is good enough," I tried to say without sounding rude.

"I think you'll need all the help you can get," Bobby said quickly. I really didn't want to cause an "ex" scene, so I just looked at Professor Xavier, grumbling under my breath.

"Alright, it's settled, then," he said, his weariness apparent in his voice. I instantly felt guilty for making things harder than they had to be. "Marie – you, Bobby and Logan will head out at dawn and begin taking as many of those creatures out as possible. The others will stay back here to protect the school. If you find any survivors, call us and we'll send a jet to deliver them somewhere safe. When and if I find who is responsible for this, we will inform you immediately so we can regroup and take care of the situation. Everything sound good?"

Everyone mumbled their understanding, to which the professor spoke. "Alright. Thank you all. Logan, Bobby, Marie..." he addressed us. "You're doing a noble service to the people of this earth, but please be careful, and call if you need anything. Things are only getting worse outside these walls."

The three of us nodded in understanding before turning and exiting the office with everyone else.

I doubted that I would get much sleep that night.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter One**

Dawn came much more quickly than I wanted it to, and I found it hard to even manage to tell Logan to let me sleep in.

"What? You think I won't bust down this door?" I heard his muffled voice come from outside my door. "You're the one who set up this whole thing. Now get up before I make you, kid."

"I told you to stop calling me kid!" I said with a defeated sigh, rolling over slowly and putting my feet to the floor. "Call me Marie or Rogue, just not _kid_. I'm in my twenties. I hardly qualify anymore."

I heard him give a grunt of acknowledgment, probably hearing me get up from the bed and stretch. His voice coming through the door again, much less irritably, he said, "Meet us in the garage in twenty."

"Right," I said, grabbing my already packed things and running into the bathroom down the hall to freshen up.

Twenty-five minutes later, I strolled into the garage with my uniform on. I could hear voices way down at the end of the garage so I followed them until Logan and Bobby came into view, both standing next to a massive black Lincoln Navigator. Logan was already looking in my direction, having probably heard me before I stepped through the door.

Both of the men were suited up, both adjusting gear that was in the back of the Navigator. Bobby seemed to finally notice my appearance and immediately smiled, approaching me.

"Ready for this, Marie?" he asked, making me cringe slightly on the inside. I hadn't exactly asked him to stop calling me by my actual name, but it seemed like he was still trying to be much closer to me than I wanted him to be.

"I don't have a choice," I said, shifting my bag uncomfortably on my shoulder. "This needs to done."

Bobby reached forward in a gesture to take my bag, but I shrugged him off and approached Logan standing next to the vehicle. He was puffing on his usual cigar and barely suppressing a glare I could sense he was directing at Bobby. I smiled lightly at him as I came near, but as soon as I was within reach of him, he took my bag without even asking and tossed it into the back of the S.U.V. I noticed his sideways glance at Bobby, and that's when I realized Logan's feral side must have been establishing his dominance as the Alpha of the group.

"Hey, be careful with that!" I snapped, reaching in and adjusting my bag amongst the multitude of supplies we were given. Once I had it placed right, I leaned back up and noticed both Bobby and Logan had their eyes on me. Frowning, I said, "Will y'all quit just starin' and get in? Where are the keys?"

I heard a faint snort come from Logan, so I looked at him questioningly. It was so hard to overlook his tall, strong physique, which was quite apparent when he had his uniform on so he was quite a sight to look at anyway. "If you think you're driving, you're wrong. _I_ do the driving."

Trying to keep my temper in check, I narrowed my eyes and said through clenched teeth, "You gotta sleep sometime."

Bobby came closer to the vehicle, standing between me and Logan. Looking at Logan, he said, "Come on, man. Let her drive. This _was_ her idea."  
As much as I appreciated Bobby trying to back me up, I didn't want his help.

Tossing his cigar to the ground and smashing it out with his boot, Logan looked at Bobby with a slight fire in his eyes. "I have better reflexes than the both of you combined. _I'm_ driving. I can sleep when we set up at night."

"Alright, fine," I said in defeat, raising my hands in surrender. Suddenly thinking on what he said, I said, "Wait, we're setting up at night? I thought we'd just take shifts sleeping and driving while killin' them things."

"That's way too dangerous. We have to settle at night. It'll be safer that way," Logan said with finality, opening the driver's door and getting in without any further fanfare.

"How?" Bobby questioned as I rolled my eyes at his attempt to be on my side.

I heard a low rumble come from deep within Logan, the Wolverine in him not liking being challenged. "Because," Logan said through gritted teeth, standing from the vehicle and straightening himself to full height. He towered over Bobby. "When we're on the road we need all eyes on the lookout. We can easily fortify any place to rest."

"Do we really need to fortify, though?" I asked, straightening my uniform out. "We're more than capable to take on anything that creeps up on us."

"It's necessary if we want any rest," Logan said. Something in his eyes implied much more meaning to his words than I could catch on to.

Not bothering to try and lock horns with (literally) the most hard-headed person in the world, I relented. "Fine. Shotgun."

Bobby and Logan both seemed to almost trip over themselves as I sashayed away and around the Navigator, hopping into the passenger seat as the two looked on. I'm sure they were both confused by my complacency.

Logan seemed to come to himself first and snapped at Bobby. "Get in!" he barked before taking his seat in the driver's spot once more while shooting me a sideways glance.

With Logan's undeniable road rage and need for speed, we were already approaching our first decimated town that had those things stumbling around within thirty minutes. Once we had come to a stop a safe distance away, I reached for the door handle just as Logan grabbed my arm to stop me.

"Hold on," he said gruffly. I could see the slight change of his face that said he was sniffing around the area and listening for every single noise. "Rogue, stay with me and make sure my back is covered. Bobby, I want you on top of that building – " He pointed to a still-intact building ten yards away. " – and calling out positions. Freeze as many as you can and Rogue can finish the job on the ground."

In the backseat, Bobby looked sullen but didn't say a word. He had already been beaten down once by Logan's Alpha mentality. He didn't want to go against him again.

"Alright, let's do it," I said, opening my door enthusiastically and striding quickly to nearest monster. It barely even had time to hiss at me before my blades left its head rolling against the dirty asphalt. I could feel Logan come up beside me as I watched Bobby in my peripherals as he scaled the building, using his ice to get him to the top quickly.

"Remember, stay on my back," Logan said to me in a low tone, not taking his eyes away from the nearest undead thing that was coming closer to us. I saw another one about twenty feet away, but I didn't even have time to process it before it was suddenly frozen solid. Looking up, I noticed that Bobby had already begun spotting and freezing the things.

"Rogue, on your eight!" I heard Logan rumble from behind me. Quickly turning to the left, I caught the disgusting thing right before it got within reach of me. As I slashed out my blades, the creature stumbled, accidentally but effectively ducking my strike. Thinking quickly, I brought my knee up and smashed the thing in its face, causing it to stumble backwards and onto its ass. I jumped on top of it quickly, putting one boot on its chest as I used my weapons to remove its head.

The crowd of undead was becoming thicker as others in the distance heard the commotion and came shambling after us. Logan was effectively slicing and dicing anything that came from behind me, and I continued to fight with everything I had, making sure none got past me. Bobby would occasionally call out something we couldn't see, but he was doing his job by freezing at least every other wraith that came near.

It seemed to take several hours of the same thing over and over. Bodies were piling up, but there wasn't anything we could do about it at the time. Around three in the afternoon, Logan seemed to have finished off the last one that was within hearing range. There were still several dozen, if not hundreds, that were frozen solid. Wiping the blood from his claws, Logan nodded towards them, looking at me with his always-so-serious face.

I took that as my cue and tapped my dual blades together. Suddenly, three foot long batons slid from the base of my blades as I stepped towards the first frozen creature. Using the baton side, I smashed the head of the frozen thing and completely shattered its head. Taking a deep breath, I began going through the paces quickly, swinging my batons around and smashing each frigid monstrosity in the head, which effectively kept them from coming back once they melted.

My job only took about an hour, and Logan helped a bit as Bobby kept a lookout. Since Logan's last kill, nothing else had emerged. Bobby seemed to think it was a good thing, but God-only-knew what was hiding in the trees nearby. We made sure to make as much noise as possible, hoping to attract as many as we could.

Every one we managed to kill was another one the world didn't have to deal with.

Once the streets were completely undead-free, we moved on to checking each building. I suggested we split up to cover more ground, but Logan only growled at the idea before barking at Bobby to start searching at the other end of town. When I asked where I was supposed to go, he mumbled something about not out of his range of sight.

I wanted to bristle at that. How dare he think he need to protect me at all times when this was _my_ mission? What right did he have to take charge?

"Logan, I can't be effective at helpin' if I'm by you the whole time," I said exasperatedly, using my flashlight to check the pantry of the kitchen we were in. When he gave me a questioning look, I said, "You literally leave me no kinda job cause you just take care of everything. I'm just standin' here watchin' _you_."

Logan gave me a hard stare. I didn't care if he felt some instinctual urge to protect me all the time. I was a grown damn woman and I was more than well-trained.

Finally giving up on reasoning with him, I opted to just piss him off and get it over with. " _I'm_ going to check the next house. I'll mark an X on the door if it's been cleared."

"You can't go off on your own, Marie!" Logan said suddenly. I turned, my hand on the door handle.

"Yes I can and I _am_. This is my mission. If I need help I'll call for it but don't think for _one second_ that just because you and Bobby are here that I don't need to be in the action. We'll be done scouting this town by nightfall if we split, so we're splitting." The obvious look of anger shrouded his face, to which I responded, "If Xavier didn't think I was capable of doing this, he wouldn't have let me do this."

Finally just ignoring him, I turned and walked out the kitchen door with him growling, "Marie, get back here!"

Ignoring him, I went on to the next house and timidly opened the door. Whistling loudly, I waited to see if I heard any movement in the house. Something far off sounded like it fell, but I couldn't tell what direction it came from.

Retracting the batons on my blades, I readied the both of them at my side as I crept through the house. It was only a one-story house, so there wasn't much to search. I checked the living room, the kitchen and bedrooms before I finally found where I believed the sound was coming from. There was a half-door below the A/C unit that had a sliding lock on the front. Putting my ear to the door, I could faintly hear the gurgling moans that were on the other side.

Sliding the lock carefully out of place, I pulled the door open to reveal a set of stairs that you had crawl down the first few. Listening, I could definitely hear an undead creature in the darkness as it groaned and made slow, shuffling sounds. Putting my hand on the inside of the door, I rapped on the inside wall to get its attention. I could hear its immediate acknowledgment of the sound and suddenly the shuffling and snarling sound got closer. I heard a thump, which made me think he had began his ascent of the stairs. Standing and backing away from the door, I readied myself as I heard it come closer. It only took a couple of minutes before it finally made its appearance, popping its gruesome head from the hole beneath the A/C unit. I took that opportunity to go ahead and take the swing, removing its head from its shoulders.

I stopped and listened for another moment, seeing if there was anything else down the hole besides the one I had just killed. When I heard nothing, I moved on, exiting the house and marking a large X over the door with one of my knives.

Things seemed to go that way for the rest of the evening. It was getting dark right as I approached the last building I needed to check. It was a small boutique, so I knew it wouldn't take long and then I could regroup with Bobby and Logan. Noting the locked glass door to the building, I extended a baton and smashed the glass.

What I hadn't been expecting was the very loud, shrill sound of an alarm. It surprised me so much that I fell back flat on my ass. Taking only a moment to recover, I hopped up and ran through the door, desperate to find whatever operated the alarm to disable it before every zombie in a fifty mile radius came looking for me. Finding an office in the back, I noticed the wires from the alarm running to a box beside the breaker switch, which must have been some type of battery. Slicing through the wires quickly, I felt my heart finally start to slow as silence once again permeated the area.

After calming my nerves after such a shock, I crept back out of the office and waited, crouching low from a corner that had a good view of the entire store. I knew that alarm had to have attracted some of them, so I had to wait. I probably crouched in that same position for fifteen minutes before I heard the first low moan. Breathing out a puff of air, I readied my scythes and kept my eyes glued to the door. I finally saw movement within moments, to which I waited out. I needed it to come inside the store before I left my safe spot. I heard the crunching of glass as the thing stumbled through the door, growling wetly and clearly in search of me. Once it was a few feet inside the door, I jumped from my spot and went in for the kill. The poor (I use that term lightly) thing didn't even have time to see me before its head was rolling.

Satisfied with myself, I slung some of the blood from my weapons before walking out of the building. Crunching through the glass, I walked through the broken door and almost screamed at the sight that met me. There were at least a couple dozen, if not more, of those creatures, and all of them had their decrepit eyes locked on me as they shambled forward.

"Shit!" I yelled, jumping backwards and back into the store. Taking off at a full sprint, I ran to the back of the store and into the office, slamming the door shut behind me. Looking around frantically, I saw a vent up above that was reachable if I climbed the desk. I could hear those things right outside the door, slamming their hands and fists repeatedly against the flimsy door. Shoving the computer and printer and all of the other unnecessary stuff from the desk, I climbed up and wrenched the vent from the ceiling. I heard a loud crack and looked around to see that the obsessed monsters had already made a hole in the door and was trying to make it big enough to go through. Readying myself, I jumped up in an attempt to grab the ledge, but I was just a hair short and fell back. My foot slipped from the edge of the desk, causing me to tumble to the floor, hitting my head on the corner of the computer tower. It took a moment to get my vision back but when I did, I saw the creatures were almost completely through the door. Wiping away the blood that ran from my head injury, I climbed the desk and readied myself once more. Putting more power into my leap, I finally grabbed the ledge on the vent, using my core muscle strength to lift me up and over the edge, settling in the cramped metal space.

Knowing the creatures didn't have the motor skills to climb up to where I was, I took a moment to sigh in relief and wipe my brow again. Blood was trickling down the side of my face, but it wasn't enough to worry me. I watched as the snarling creatures plowed through the door finally and crawled onto the desk, trying to reach me. We could easily see each other, but their reach was just a little too far off.

Since I wasn't sure where the air vents would take me, I settled for staying in place and picking them off one by one as they came within my scythes' reach. Every time one would stand up on the desk, I'd swipe down, making contact with their necks or temples, effectively killing them. I stayed where I was for probably around twenty minutes, having only taken out seven or eight of the things before I heard my rescue.

"Marie!" Logan's tone reverberated through the room and the vent shaft.

"I'm here!" I yelled out, taking another swipe at a nearby zombie. Without hesitation, the entire room was flooded with ice, freezing everything that was below me. After that I could hear crashes, like the breaking of ice. It only took a moment to see Logan below me, looking up. He was slathered in blood, but I was pretty sure none of it was his own. He gave a quick swipe of his claws at the last frozen corpse, shattering it to bits.

"It's safe," he huffed out, reaching out.

Taking that as the signal to jump down, I slid easily from the vent and landed lightly in Logan's arms, taking care to not let my skin touch him. He didn't put me down like I thought he would, but instead carried me out of the frozen room and out into the main area of the store, which was iced over and covered with blood as well. I could see Bobby standing at the broken front door, looking like he was scouting for more of those monsters.

"I got her," Logan said gruffly, getting Bobby's attention. He looked up and saw me for only a second before he immediately approached the two of us.

"Are you okay?" Bobby asked, almost momentarily forgetting about my skin and trying to touch my forehead where I was bleeding from. Logan snapped me away from him quickly, a low warning growl rumbling in his chest as he almost raised his hackles.

"Don't touch her, idiot!" he barked, sweeping past Bobby and walking through the broken doorway. It was dark outside so I couldn't see much, especially with my vision starting to blur again. I'd hit my head pretty hard on that computer, and it was beginning to throb like it. However, if there was a threat, Logan would know, so I trusted him to take me wherever we were going.

I heard Bobby following up behind us. He and Logan were talking back and forth in rapid succession so it was impossible for me to understand what they were saying. Or maybe I was just...

Yep, I was just blacking out.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

When I woke up, I could feel the freezing cold air of the room on my face though I was quite warm under whatever blanket I was using. The warmth made me snuggle deeper into my cover, until a sharp pain shot across my forehead. Snapping my eyes open and sitting up fast, I felt my head where the pain radiated from and found it bandaged. Looking around frantically, I saw I was in a fairly modern bedroom with dim light coming from a solar lamp on the nightstand.

Movement from the corner startled me, and I immediately began grabbing around for any kind of weapon before I heard him. "Hey, chill out, kid. It's just me."

As the figure came closer, light began to illuminate him, showing Logan only wearing a wife beater and blue jeans. He must have changed out of his gore soaked uniform.

Feeling my heart rate even out at his familiar face, I managed a small smile, wincing at the headache that throbbed through my brain. "Logan," I said with a relieved tone. "Where are we? What happened?"

Logan ignored my questions for a moment while he leaned forward and began inspecting my scrapes and injuries. "Are you in pain?" he asked, moving my head bandages aside to take a look.

Trying to pull my mind together, I lightly pushed him away as I said, "Other than the expected headache, I'm sure I'll be fine. Now, update me."

"Marie," he said softly, brushing a hand over my neck, my thin scarf the only thing separating his fingers from my skin. "I think you should rest. Pretty sure ya got a concussion. I fuckin' _told_ Xavier this would happen."

His tone expressed concern, but it didn't sooth my temper in the least. "Hey, I was doin' just fine on my own!" I snapped, vaguely noting that the warmth I was wrapped in was in fact Logan's leather jacket. I really, really needed to ignore that for the moment. "I was in a safe spot to pick them creatures off. Y'all comin' in just saved me a lotta time."

"Marie," Logan growled, making sure I looked him in his green eyes as fire seemed to blaze in them. "You were cornered. If you want to take some of my – "

"No! I'm not taking any of your life force. And I wasn't cornered!" I argued, regretting my louder tone as my head gave a particularly nasty throb. "I had two ways to go in that vent. I was just doin' my job by killin' them things. Now answer my damn questions, Logan." I was no longer a child that he could just order around. He may have been my protector for many years, but that didn't give him the right to dictate my every move.

Logan sighed wearily, sitting back on his haunches and gritting his teeth. "Me and Bobby carried you back to this house right outside town. He set up ice barriers around it so we could get some rest and wait for you to wake up."

At the mention of Bobby, I felt my gut twist a bit more than it already was. That explained the cold air but it was impossible for me to have wanted him along on this venture regardless. He knew it was over between the two of us, and Logan knew it too, yet Bobby still stayed by my side like a lost puppy. I appreciated that he still cared for me, I just wish he wouldn't. "Where is he?"

"Upstairs, asleep," he grunted, putting a cigar to his lips and lighting it. I wrinkled my nose as the smell of smoke hit me, but I ignored it as I always did. "So, other than a headache, you feelin' alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," I said, moving to place my feet on the floor. Logan stopped my legs from ever clearing the edge of the bed.

"You need to stay here and rest," he said sternly, chewing into the cigar. "If you don't want my... _help_ , then you at least need to lie back for a while. We'll head out tomorrow for the next town. Think you can manage that?"

I eyed Logan warily, knowing he was only telling a half-truth. We may head out the next day for the next town, but that didn't mean Logan wouldn't force me out of the action. With the way my head was pounding, I knew it wouldn't be an easy task to take on more monsters the next day, but I could still do it.

"We'll see," I said with finality, easing myself back into the throw pillow of the couch I was on. "So, why am I on the couch and the Ice Princess upstairs gets a bed?"

I almost thought that Logan might choke, but he straightened his face as he responded with a low tone, "He was keepin' watch. Fell asleep. I can hear anything that gets close so I stayed up."

"Oh, shug," I said, shaking my head lightly. "You need rest, too."

I heard Logan snort at that before saying, "I regenerate so I can go a lot longer without sleep than most. Don't worry about me, kid."

Sighing loudly I said, "Please find a different word for me. I'm not a kid anymore and it's a li'l bit degradin'. I haven't gone through the shit I have just to still be considered a _kid_."

I could see Logan smiling, his Wolverine teeth almost bared in a grin. "I know. I just like drivin' ya crazy."

I watched as he gave me one last smirk before smashing out his cigar and taking up post on the couch adjacent to me, propping his boots off the end of the loveseat. "Well, stahp," I said, my southern accent rolling easily from my tongue. "At least find a different name to call me if you can't use Rogue or Marie."

There was silence and Logan seemed to ponder my words. I could hear the house creaking, settling as all structures did. If there were one of those things nearby, Logan would have heard it. Finally after a good few silent moments, he said, "I think I can do something about that."

Rolling my eyes, I kept my focus on the lamp beside me. "If you call me something stupid like _minion_ or _sunshine_ , I will kick your ass."

I heard a soft chuckle come from him, but it was low and fading. I could tell he was almost asleep. I stayed where I was for a good forty minutes before I was definitely sure he was out. Standing quietly from the couch, I limped my way to the stairs and climbed them, determined to reach the roof so I could see our surroundings. It was in the dead of night, but I wasn't sure exactly what time it was. Once I came to the landing, I quickly found my way to the attic and through a window to get onto the roof.

Down below me, I could see the ice wall Bobby had built to keep out any trouble. It stood close to fifteen feet tall, but it wasn't tall enough to impede my view of the surrounding area.

It was dark but I was certain we were surrounded with nothing but trees. A light breeze rolled over the roof, slightly chilly but not as chilly as the ice walls made it. I could hear various nighttime wildlife echoing throughout the trees. A coyote wasn't too far away, and I was pretty sure I heard a couple of owls nearby. Cicadas and bullfrogs let themselves be heard along with the other sounds, and I was suddenly missing my home, back in Mississippi. Being able to see the stars so brightly was something I had sorely missed up until that point, where I could look up and see a sky so clear, the Milky Way was a prominent splash of stars streaking through the night sky.

Sitting with my knees drawn to my chest and my arms around my knees, I was looking endlessly into the stars when I heard the sound of someone stumbling onto the roof with me. When I looked around, my heart sank at the sight of Bobby.

"Hey, you're awake," he said, coming up beside me and sitting down. He was entirely too close but I couldn't bring myself to be rude and asked him to move.

"Um, yeah," I said meekly, absently brushing a hand across my bandaged forehead. "Came out for some fresh air. Figured I'd keep a look out while Logan passed out."

"You should be resting," he said, looking at me with an almost incredulous look.

Snorting derisively, I leaned back to where my legs were stretched in front of me and I was leaning back on my arms. "I'm fine. I can't sleep right now anyway."

"Me, either," Bobby said quietly. I was looking up at the stars to avoid looking at him but I could feel him getting closer. "I was worried about you, Marie."

Gritting my teeth and biting my tongue, I managed, "Didn't seem all that worried since you decided to take a nap while you were supposed to be on watch."

I heard him give a small, hesitant laugh. "Yeah, sorry about that. Used a lot of my energy today." I could feel him move even closer to me, just enough to feel the chill that he constantly radiated. "But I really was worried. I... I don't know what I would have done if something had happened to you."

That's when I felt the touch of his gloved hand on my covered waist, while the other tried to bury itself into my hair as he pressed his body to mine.

"Bobby, what are you doing?" I yelled out, trying to shove him away. "You know we're over and you know you can't touch me so why the hell are you still tryin'?"

He was trying to maintain his hold on me, tightening his grip and nuzzling his face into the front of my shirt. "Please, Marie. I can't... I can't let something like that happen again and not know if we could ever..."

I wasn't sure where he was going with that sentence, but I didn't like it so I immediately bucked against him, loosening his grip just enough to slip away. As I lunged under his arm, I didn't counter-balance my weight enough and ended up rolling over and down the roof. I screamed out, trying my hardest to reach out and stop myself. Right as my foot came into contact with the gutter, I was suddenly stopped mid-roll as I was lifted into muscled arms.

"What the hell is going on out here? Marie, are you okay?" I heard Logan's harsh tone and I knew it was him and he was furious.

"Nothin'" I said breathlessly, shooting a glare at Bobby. "I slipped and almost fell off the porch."

"Don't lie to me, Marie," I heard Logan growl dangerously. "It's all in your scent. What did you do to her, Popsicle?" He asked roughly, pulling me tighter to himself.

"I didn't do anything!" Bobby stammered out, standing up and straightening himself out. "I was trying to check her injuries and – "

"You're fuckin' lyin', too," Logan almost roared, seething as he looked at the cryokinetic mutant with fire in his eyes. "I can smell you all over her and she smells of nothing but fear and embarrassment!"

Suddenly, I was on my feet as Logan had set me down to get in Bobby's face. Grabbing the much younger man by the front of his uniform, Logan rumbled, "If you lay one more hand on her and I smell her fear, you won't have to worry about your luck with anything but eunuchs for the rest of your existence."

Just as suddenly as I was put down, I was swept right back into the arms of the Wolverine as the two of us went back inside the house. The man refused to put me down as we made our way back to the living room as he muttered the whole way there.

Once I was settled back on the couch, I watched as he swiftly turned around in the direction of the stairs.

"Wait! Logan!" I called out, letting his leather jacket slide to the floor as I stood from the couch uneasily. The feral turned and looked at me with pure rage burning in his eyes. "Don't... Don't do anything to him. He was just scared an' confused. It was my fault for almost fallin' off the roof. So just... Leave him alone. If he causes any more trouble, we'll send him back to the school. Then we can do this, just be you an' me, like old times."

Logan's face showed great inner turmoil as he seemed to fight against himself just as hard as he would any enemy. He was tense, obviously still ready to go do something to Bobby that he'd possibly regret later. We stood staring at each other for probably close to two minutes without saying another word, Logan maintaining his rough stature the whole time. Finally, his eyebrows seemed to draw away from each other as he began to approach me.

Putting his hand lightly on my shoulder, he made me lay back down on the couch and used his fallen jacket to cover me once again.

"If he puts one more toe out of line, he's out." Struggling with his words for a moment, he cleared his throat and continued. "I could smell... I could smell his overwhelming sadness but I could also smell his arousal. He was going to try something... Something I could never allow."

Fear struck me to my core as he said those words, but I couldn't stop from arguing, "He... He couldn't! My skin – "

"There are ways around your skin," he growled, seemingly to himself. "S'not as fun, but he was going to..."

I was pretty sure I was already pale as a ghost, but the more I thought about, the greener I felt with sickness. The pit of my stomach seemed as though my guts were being twisted painfully, and it horrified me to think about _that_... especially with Bobby. Yes, I was almost completely without experience when it came to that subject, but I had done my own exploring, and I knew how everything was supposed to go. And _none_ of it involved being forced.

"I'm fine," I said finally, though the high pitch to my voice probably gave me away. "We just... Don't need to start fightin' amongst ourselves. There's already enough shit goin' on."

Logan didn't seem to like that idea, but he nodded anyways, posting up on the couch adjacent to me once more. I knew there was no way he would be sleeping for the rest of the night, so I decided to close my eyes and try and clear my mind.

Over the years as an adult at the school, Charles slowly worked with me on finding ways to get control over my skin, but it was nearly impossible unless I was completely still and quiet and focused. When the deadly charge of my skin would finally die out, I would feel it and immediately become excited, which automatically made my skin deadly once more. I practiced regular meditation to work more diligently with it, but the longest I ever made it last was three solid minutes.

And I was only able to do that because I was alone, with no one to watch me or divert my focus.

I probably laid on the couch under the warmth of Logan's jacket for forty-five minutes, trying to clear my mind and focus on closing the chest in my mind that contained my mutation. It was my mental way of physically getting my skin to try and stop radiating death. If I focused hard enough, I could get the latch to shut, which immediately made my skin feel soft and warm and like I was being massaged with a cloud. Charles managed to find that exact moment in my mind and touched my bare wrist. I panicked and my skin immediately went back to feeling dirty and exposed, but not before the professor could tell me that it had worked. For that brief period of time, someone touched my skin and didn't almost die.

Though it was only the smallest of victories, I was determined to work with it. It was years in progress, but I thought that one day I would finally find the leverage I needed to open and close it at will, or at least shut it for good. I could live without my mutation, but not without my mutant friends.

"Marie?" Logan's voice finally rang out at close to an hour of silence. It effectively pulled me back out of my meditation, in which I had only succeeded in turning off my skin briefly four times.

"Yeah, Logan?" I responded softly.

"Don't... Don't ever let him get his hands on you again. I'm still feral. You're still part of my pack. I don't know if I can control myself if it happens again."

The silence that swirled around the roof was definitely uncomfortable, but I could understand his feelings. "It won't happen again. Mine an' Bobby's relationship has been over for a long time. I'm gonna set him down tomorrow and make it clear once and for all that I can't have him trying to be all over me or defending me all the time."

I heard a low chuckle come from Logan, the second one of the night. "I don't mind the kid defendin' ya, I just can't ignore the smell of your anxiety and discomfort. Hell, he can protect ya all day long, but when it makes you nervous, it sets me on edge."

I heard him hesitate and then silence, which made me think he had something to add. However, after another uncomfortable silence, I knew he wasn't going to continue.

I was almost finally asleep when I heard Logan mumble sleepily, and almost in too low a voice for me to hear, " _My_ pack. Mine."

* * *

 _ **As you can tell, I don't like Bobby. Please R &R!**_


End file.
